Helping Hands at Joseph Clarke School

Osborne Property Services’ Ascham Homes team recently visited Joseph Clarke School & Service to help improve their playground for their visually impaired students.

The Joseph Clarke School & Service in Waltham Forest is part of the Whitefield Academy Trust and is a centre of excellence for visual impairment in the South East. The school serves pupils with visual impairment and additional or complex needs.

Osborne was asked to build several raised beds that could then be filled with sensory plants. The strong scents across the set locations add an element of comfort to the children by helping them to identify where they are in the playground.

To add to this, Osborne was able to offer the opportunity to the children to get involved in the build. Following a series of safety talks and a chance to get to know the PPE and equipment, each pupil, alongside their Osborne team members, was able to saw and drill and help plant their newly-made raised beds.

Maureen Duncan, Head Teacher at the school was delighted that the children could be a part of this project:

“I would like to express my immense thanks to Osborne – we know that working with visually impaired children is not something that you had embarked upon previously and we are so glad that you were able to incorporate us into your projects. The project itself had the pupils buzzing with excitement! The day after your visit, they were touching the planter by the entrance gate and proudly telling everyone that it was something that they had made.”